Key fastener



w. 'c. BRANDT AND J. A. LEWIS.

KEY FASTENER-' APPLICATIONfILHi FEB. 7, 192 0- l,410,527. Patented Mar; 21, 1922.

fee air "WALTER C. BRANDT-AND JESSE A. LEWIS, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

KEY FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pat ntefl 1111a 21 1922 Application filed February 7, 1920. Serial No. 357,046.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, WALTER C. BRAnnr and JnssnA. Lewis, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Paul, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Key Fasteners, of which the following is a specification. V a v Our invention relates to a key fastener which is particularly adapted to operate in connection with the door lock to hold the key in place to operate thelock and against being forced out of the same by a burglar or anyone trying to open the lock from the outside of the door.

A further object of our invention is in a key fastener which is attached to the door or look by a flexible means to hold it against disengagement therefrom ina simple manner.

It is also an object of our invention to provide a fastener which when inserted in the key slot in the plate or ,escutcheon of the lock will move by gravity into lockingor fastening position to prevent removal of the key from the look and also to provide a key fastening means which is easily and readily removable from the lock key slot so that when it is desired the key can be removed from the door lock. 7

' Other features and advantages of our fastener Willbe clearly set forth in the specificationandclaims.v I

In the drawings forming part of. this specification 1 a a Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary lockinplace in a do0r,,only a portion of the door being illustrated, and showing our fastener attached thereto. 7

Figure 2 is a cross sectional elevation of the'door and lock, illustrating our fastener in operating position. a

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of our fastener. r

- Figure 4 is a geometrical developement of a stamping of a different formof fastenin device. V

' igure 5 is a perspectiv e view of the form illustrated in Figure 1 of the fastener as it would appear when bent in shape ready for use. 1

In the drawings A represents a portion of a door in which an ordinary lock B is secured in the usual manner and which is providedwith a plate or escutcheon 10, having a key slot 11 through which the key 12 is inserted into the lock to operate the same.

When the key 12 is in position to operate the key bolt 13 of the lock B it is very desirable in many instances to hold the key in operating positionagainst removal by accident or otherwise and to accomplish this we have designed our fastener C. The fas tener C iscomposed of the plate 14, to which is attached the'key engaging or looking lug 15 by the shank 16 to rigidly hold the lug 15.

The member 15 is attached near one end of the plate 14 to form awe'ighted portion 17 at the opposite end to the fastening of the shank 16 on the plate 1 1, which serves to cause the lug 15 to extend horizontally in the key slot of thelock with the shoulders 18 formed adjacent the shank 16in position to engage the inner surface at each side of the slot 11 in the escutcheon of the lock to prevent the lug 15 from disengagement with the escutcheon. The lug 15 is formed with an offset end 19, which serves to engage the operating head or flange 20 of the key 12 to hold it against disengagement from the look, while the weighted end 17 will cause the fastener to automatically move into locking position by gravity after the lug 15 is inserted through the slot 11. r

The oif set end 19 prevents tampering with the lug15 3:11am cause any tool which ma v be used from the outside of the door to try and pick or engage the locking lug 15 so as to force the fastenerC out of the key slot 11. The wide, flat nature of the lug 15 has a tendency to insure the lug engaging the key flange 20 and allow the lug to rest against the lower portion 21 of the key slot, I

The weighted end 17 of the fastener C is formed with a hole 22 in which a flexible member 23, such as a chain or other suitable flexible means, engages to connect the fastener C with the door A or the escutcheon of the look by one of the screws 24. In this manner the fastener Cis connected with the lock and door against disengagement therefrom but which allows the key lug 15 to be 'is not desired for use it can hang from the chain or flexible member 23.

The flexible member or chain 23 acts to increase the action of the weighted end 17 of the fastener C to cause it to turn by gravity auto1natically into locking'position when the lug i5 is inserted in the key slot.

The key fastening element of our device may be formed of a single piece of material to form a key fastening element, such as D, illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4: illustrates the fastener D in its geometrical development as it would appear stamped from a thin, flat sheet of material, while Figure 5 illustrates the finished article bent into the proper shape. In this construction the key engaging lug 15 is similar in shape and appearance to the lug 15, while the shank 16 connects the lug 15 with the weighted and enlarged end 17. The weighted end 17 is formed with a hole 22' in which one end of the chain 23 engages to connect the fastener D to the escutcheon of the lock by the screw 24: in the same manner as illustrated in Figure 1. V

The key fastening or enlarging element illustrated in either of the constructions described performs the same function and is primarily adapted to turn automatically into locking position in the key slot due to the weighted ends 17 and 17 which is urged by the additional weight of the chain or flexible member 23. This feature makes the device practical for general use and prevents any possibility of the device not being in position to operate as a key fastener. The fasteners C or D do not interfere with the ordinary operation and functions of the key 12 and will prevent the key from being disengaged from the lock, thus serving a practical purpose for holding the key in the lock and door during the movement of the door in ordinary use. The simple, inexpensive construction of our device adds to its merits and practical features.

In accordance with the patent statutes we have described the principles of operation of our invention, together with the apparatus which we now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but we desire to have it understood that the construction shown is only illustrative and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claims:

1'. In combination with an escutcheon, a key hole in the same, akey fastener having an elongated member insertable' through. said key hole and a portion'rotatable with-in the key hole and a weight for rotating sait rotatable member within the key hole to cause said elongated member to extend across said escutcheon on the inner side of the key hole. 7

2. A device for holding a key in a lock, including a key engaging member, an offset portion connected to said member to cause lug secured to said plate, a weight to auto-- matically move said lug into latching position when inserted in the 'key slot of the lock through the lock plate secured to t-he door and means for latching said lug against disengagement from said plate. ,7

5. A key fastener in combination with a lock, an escutcheon, an engaging lug,

escutcheon engaging shoulders formed on.

said lug, a weight or ofi'set member adapted to turn said lug into key holding position and a flexible member adapted to'connect said lug and weight member to said escutcheon and lock.

6. A key fastener in combination with a look, a key engaging lug formed on one end of said member, a weighted portion formed on the other end of said member, a thin shank connecting said lug and weight por-' tions of said fastener, a shoulder formed on the back of said key lug adapted to hold saidlug in engaging position to hold a key in a lock and a flexible member adapted to hold a key fastener connected to a lock and door to allow it to be used to hold a key or remove it from the lock and adapted-to'hang in readiness for use when desired. g 7

7. A key fastener, including'a' key engaging lug', a weighted end,-a flexible member adapted to hold said fastener topreventdisplacement of the same, said weighted end and flexible member forming weight means to cause saidkey lug to be automatically moved into operative position when the same is inserted in the key slot. V

. 8. A key retainer comprising a neck, a head mounted on said neck on oneendtheie of and a weight secured to said neck at its other end. a

9. A key retainer comprising a neck, a head mounted on one end of said neck 'anda: neck in weighted member mounted on said offset relation to said head.

1O. A key retainer eomprlsmg a neck, a

head mounted on said neck having a pair of shoulders formed thereon and a body portion secured to the other end of said neck.

11. A key retainer comprising a head of a Width greater than the thickness thereof, a neck having a Width substantially equal to the thickness of said head and a body member secured to said neck.

12. A neck retainer comprising a horizontally positioned key, a head issuing hori- 10 zontally outward from said neck having an upwardly turned end and a depending body portion secured to the other end of said neck.

WALTER C, BRANDT. JESSE A. LEWIS. 

